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Relevance: GS-II (Polity: Parliament) | Source: The Hindu

The News: The Lok Sabha’s Monsoon Session has been paused indefinitely for over 46 days. However, it hasn’t been officially “closed” by the President. This is the longest delay of its kind since 2014, leading to rumors that the government might suddenly restart the session to pass urgent laws.

1. Paused vs. Closed

In Parliament, there is a massive legal difference between hitting “pause” and hitting “stop.”

  • Adjournment Sine Die (Paused): This Latin term simply means the daily meetings have stopped, but no return date is set. Crucially, the session itself is not over; it is just on standby.
  • Prorogation (Closed): This officially ends the entire session. Only the President of India can do this. Usually, this happens right after the House is paused, but this time, it hasn’t.

2. Why Keep the Session Alive?

  • The Quick Restart: Starting a brand-new session requires giving a formal 15-day notice to all MPs. By keeping the current session on standby, the Speaker can completely bypass this rule and call MPs back immediately.
  • Political Strategy: Historically, long pauses happen during intense political drama (like the Bofors scandal in the late 1980s). Today, experts suspect the government is keeping the session alive so they can suddenly introduce major bills without warning.

Value Box: Key Parliamentary Rules
Article 85 States that the President summons and prorogues the House. It also mandates that the gap between two sessions cannot exceed six months.
Rule 15 (Lok Sabha) Gives the Speaker the special power to call a meeting at any time after the House has been paused (adjourned sine die).
Prorogation vs. Dissolution Prorogation ends a session (pending bills survive). Dissolution ends the entire 5-year term of the Lok Sabha (triggering elections, and most pending bills die).

Practice MCQ

Q. Consider the following statements regarding Parliamentary procedures in India:

  1. The power to prorogue a session of the Lok Sabha rests exclusively with the Speaker of the House.
  2. When a session of Parliament is prorogued, all pending bills introduced in the House immediately lapse.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only     (b) 2 only     (c) Both 1 and 2     (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Hint: Statement 1 is incorrect because the power to prorogue the House rests with the President under Article 85(2), not the Speaker. Statement 2 is incorrect because bills pending before either House do not lapse upon prorogation; they only lapse when the Lok Sabha is fully dissolved.
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